


Chasing Cat Tails

by Okaamichin14



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Alternate Universe - K/DA (League of Legends), Alternate Universe - The Cat Has the Key to my Door, Alternate Universe - Victorian, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Monsters, Pets, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:07:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29799933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okaamichin14/pseuds/Okaamichin14
Summary: To the one that seeks my hand in marriage, there’s only one rule.My dearest cat has my spare key to my front door.The rules are simple.Find my cat, open my door, and I will be yours.With love,Lady Evelynn of House Runeterra
Relationships: Ahri/Kai'Sa (League of Legends), Akali/Evelynn (League of Legends)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 98





	Chasing Cat Tails

**Author's Note:**

> Evelynn writes a challenge in the local newspaper. Ahri is dumbfounded. Akali can’t read. And Kai’Sa is making bread.

//

“Evelynn!”

Evelynn winced as she covered her ears. This was not the warm welcome she expected as she was guided into the carriage by her coachmaster. After she adjusted her dress to sit comfortably on the seat, she finally addressed the other occupant in the carriage. 

“Hush Ahri, such shrill tones are completely suited for songs of prayer, but they irritate me nonetheless. The shrill that you made is unbecoming of you.” 

Ahri, Lady of Ionia, dismissed the remark and continued with her irate tirade. In her hands she held the latest newspaper in front of Evelynnn. “This is in the papers! A challenge to find a suitor?! You have taken leave of your senses to even attempt such a feat! How is this possible?”

“I thought you would know by now darling.” Evelynn curled her fingers and drummed them in the air, a small wave of purple mist manifesting in between them. Ahri maintained her glare and fanned the purple mist in annoyance. Evelynn sighed, “I bribed the compositor’s daughter to have this made. And how did you manage to get the first paper of the morning? Whatever happened to teaching those school children?”

The blonde woman crossed her arms and coughed ‘lady’-like into her closed fist, “I bribed the same daughter. You are distracting me. I am upset with you.”

“And I will not apologize darling.” 

“Regarding your letter, you wrote to me some time ago asking for assistance and I just so happened to be on holiday. Was I mistaken?”

“You are not mistaken,” Evelynn smirked. “I am in need of assistance. It has been some time since we last created such a stir.” 

Ahri leaned against the back of the seat and sighed as she folded the newspaper in her lap. She used her free hand to pinch the bridge of her brow. “You certainly will. Alright then. Before we continue on Evelynn, can we please go to the bakery?”

Evelynn rolled her eyes but nonetheless told the carriage driver to guide them to the favourite bakery.

“Again?”

“Oh come now. If I am to spend the holiday with you, I would like to have some treats to satisfy my tongue. Besides, you can get your favourite pastries to go with tea.” Ahri insisted, her hand patting Evelynn’s that were folded on her lap. 

“Very well darling.”

//

Akali was a lowly crossing sweeper. Her family name may have been important, but she was not. She was merely sold off by her mother into the thankless profession while the cold-hearted woman trained another master blacksmith to wield the Jhomen-Tethi skill. But her life was not all bad; the sweeping was good, honest work and her earliest years of martial tutelage under her late grandfather had given her a deep appreciation for such things. 

A droplet of sweat fell from her brow and impacted the pavement with a tiny splat. A sigh escaped her cracked lips as she paused to wipe her brow with the dirty-off-white sleeve of her shirt. She leant on the old broom while the bright sun beat down on her back with relentless ferocity.

The heat of the sun had no effect on the children who were shouting on top of their lungs as they sold newspapers. Today something was different. Men and women clamoured excitedly as newspapers were bought out as quickly as they were made. The steady rise in volume piqued her curiosity, but she was not to leave her post when she had just arrived. Instead, she turned her ear to the direction of the commotion. 

“Lady Evelynn is looking for anyone, anyone, to find her cat!”

“The cat is white with a purple collar! And black tipped-tail!”

“Do not harm the cat!”

Akali stopped her motion mid-sweep, head cocked to the side. “What is this nonsense about a missing cat?”

Lost pets were just as common as stumbling drunks on the streets. Even if lost pets were found by the police, they were often worse for wear. Horse drawn carriages often find themselves accidentally or even purposefully colliding with an unsuspecting pet. 

It was strange though as most people would avoid the strays even if they were playful. To see people clamoring about a stray cat was too out of place. She would have to tell her friend about it later, right now she had a job to do. 

Akali cocked her head when she saw a black carriage roll up on her street. She quickly walked over and swept the street leading up to the carriage. Aristocrats - in all their grandeur - were meticulous in their appearance from the carriages that were used to the clothes on their person. To avoid dirt, dust and muck at every possible turn was important or they would throw a fit. Akali hastened her motions.

They were also known to be either indifferent or cruel to those below their stations.  
While there were some that were kind to Akali, most were not. The sneers whenever they would pass on the street bothered Akali occasionally. If it were not for her grandfather’s lessons, she would have found herself in trouble. 

She found that the easiest way to keep aristocrats satisfied was to make sure that the streets stayed clean. By the time Akali was within fifteen paces, the coachmen had opened the door holding his hand out for the passenger inside.

“Lady Ahri.”

Akali stopped her sweeping and stepped aside when a tall-blonde haired woman stepped out of the carriage. 

Gorgeous. Blonde hair tied up in an elegant bun. If Akali were to guess when her hair was loose, the tone would be akin to shimmering gold. Given her station, the lady called Ahri was wearing the latest in London fashion. The colour was cream with pink accents on the ribbons and lace. The dress was cuffed just above the ankle so as to not drag on the street. Akali felt her shoulders rising to her ears, hoping that she did a good job. The thought of trying to remove stains out of a cream dress instilled a cold splash of fear in her. She did not have the means to replace ruined fabric. 

She would still need to be on her best behaviour, so Akali tipped her hat and gave a bow as soon as Lady Ahri had disembarked. Akali gestured to the cleaner side of the street for the blonde woman to stand on. She was about to show off her best grin, but the driver called out to another passenger.

“Lady Evelynn.”

Lady Evelynn stepped out of the carriage and Akali dropped her broom. If Lady Ahri was gorgeous, then Lady Evelynn was otherworldly. Her hair was styled similarly to Ahri’s, but instead of blonde locks, it was silver– but there was another colour, a colour that Akali had yet to learn. While her dress was not cream coloured, it was similar in style to Ahri but in all black.

She was breathtaking. 

“Your broom, darling.”

The tone washed over her like a cold bath on a winter morning. The cross-sweeper snapped to attention; she had not noticed that she dropped her broom. Akali nervously picked up her tool and gestured for the noblewoman to stand on the freshly swept street. 

“Stand here Miss! Not this side, I have not finished.”

Evelynn appraised the younger woman with a neutral expression. There was dirt on her nose and stains on those oversized trousers that she wore. Her hands were worn with scars and calluses on her fingertips. It was possible the younger woman was in an apprenticeship that required hard physical labour. 

“And if I were to go elsewhere? You would not have known.”

Her cheeks burned while she averted her gaze to the ground.“I beg your pardon Miss. I did not mean to offend.”

Ahri, who saw the exchange, decided to step in on the younger woman’s behalf. She tugged on Evelynn’s arm while she spoke in low tones as warm as honey.

“It is quite alright, no harm done. Evelynn let us be on our way. I would love to get my hands on those tarts.”

As a small token of appreciation, Ahri held her fist out which prompted Akali to open her hand, palm facing up. Ahri dropped several shillings in her palm, making grey eyes go wide in shock.

“M-miss!” Akali stammered, her hands shaking in disbelief.

“Take the money darling. Maybe use it to get a cleaner set of clothes. Yours is quite ghastly.” Evelynn quipped as she started to head in the direction of the bakery, not at all disguising her disgust. Again, Akali’s cheeks burned in humiliation. She had not the faintest idea of the meaning of the word but the tone and the look on her face told her just as much. 

Filthy. 

“Yes Miss.”

“Good girl.”

Akali could see that Ahri glared at Evelynn as the pair walked off on the cleaner street toward the bakery. She let out a deep irritated sigh. It was not out of the ordinary to be treated with disrespect, there was just something about Lady Evelynn that made it feel more painful. 

//

It was when the sun had slowly started to set on the west did Akali feel that she did enough for the day. The streets would be clean for the rest of the evening. And tomorrow when she returns there will be more dirt again. Despite the repetitive process, it was an honest good day’s work. After reporting her work to her superior, she was sent off with her normal wages for the day. 

Three pence. 

Three pence and with the amount of shillings that she received from Lady Ahri, it took no mathematician to realize that this was more money than she held in her lifetime. The only logical decision was to find her friend and to help her count the total sum. She dusted off her trousers, took a quick stop at the well that was nearby to give her face a wash and then walked to the bakery with a smile. 

When she entered the bakery, an elderly man came to greet her with a warm smile. 

“There you are Akali!”

“Good evening Mr. Kassadin. I am back to help if you do not mind.”

“Will the payment be the same? One loaf of bread?”

“One loaf of bread is quite enough.” Akali said reassuringly. “Is Bokkie around?”

“In the back, putting the fires into work. Go on now.”

Akali tipped her head, and walked toward the back.

“Kai’Sa!”

Kai’Sa was hunched over a coal-fired kitchen range. Akali watched as Kai’Sa added more coal to keep the fire alight. There was soot on her cheeks and sweat on her brow as she moved quickly even with the growing temperature in the kitchen. When her name was called, Kai’Sa looked up and greeted her friend with a smile.

“There you are! I was beginning to think that you would be sweeping till sunrise.”

Akali rolled up her sleeves and slowly started to drip with sweat. “I thought so too. There was even a large crowd on my street so there was enough work to last me the day. I will tell you about it after supper. Let us get to work, we have a lot to do.”

“That we do Akali.”

//

It was after their second batch of bread that they finally had dinner. Even if it was some leftover gruel, Akali felt like royalty in this moment. Akali was thankful for every day that she was able to spend her afternoons and evenings with Kai’Sa and her father. While their bakery was quite popular, the demands of the goods were too great for Kassadin alone. Kai’Sa, his only daughter, young and bright, had to put off schooling to help her father. That was how they met. Akali was in need of extra coin as she was not adequately fed at Madam Leblanc’s. She remembered the glare that Kai’Sa gave her. Money was scarce as it always was in London for those who were poor. Any spare coin was to be kept for savings for emergencies. It was in that moment of their silent standoff that Akali’s stomach growled, much to her embarrassment. Kassadin and Kai’Sa looked at each other and sighed; no one should go hungry no matter their station. Therefore, a large loaf of bread a day were the terms as long as Akali had helped with the preparations as most of the work would have to be done in the evening when the sun had set. 

It had been that way since then. 

As Kassadin retired for bed, Kai’Sa and Akali now had enough privacy to entertain themselves with the gossip for the day.

“I met some noblewomen today. I think they came here earlier.”

“Lady Evelynn and Lady Ahri?” Kai’Sa paused, the dough forgotten just for a brief moment, “Did you find yourself in trouble?”

Akali bit her lip. 

“Well now is not the time to be shy. Tell me about it!” The baker said as she returned to her kneading. Akali relayed her story, trying to not sound like a petulant child as she did. Kai’Sa only bobbed her head as the story unfolded. 

“What was it like when they were here, Bokkie?”

Kai’Sa clicked her tongue, “They bought their tarts and cakes and left. It was quite strange. I felt that one of them wanted to stay a little longer. For what purpose? I am not sure.”

“Who, Lady Evelynn?”

“Lady Ahri. Hah! Why would she linger?” The baker muttered to herself as she placed a cloth over the rolls to let them rest. 

“Hmmm, speaking of Lady Evelynn, have you read this?” Kai’Sa gestured to the folded newspaper. Her eyes scanned the newspaper, her head cocked to the side as she did so. Akali shook her head. Despite the size of the font, the amount of words on the paper in her hands made Akali feel small. Her head throbbed as she wracked her brain for definitions to give her clues on what is being written. 

She lamented that she did not get too far in her schooling before starting her apprenticeship. 

“Bokkie, you know that I could hardly read. There far too many words that I do not understand.”

“It does take a bit of practice. Shall I read it to you or shall I use it to keep the fire going?”

Akali nodded. 

“Lady Evelynn is looking for someone to marry. She proposed a challenge.”

Akali snorted as she rolled out another piece of dough. “And surely there is someone out there that clearly wants to marry her.” She began to separate the dough in small handfuls. 

“It is written here that all one has to do is to find her cat because the cat has the key to her home. Therefore, find the cat, find the key and then well...”

“Those are the terms?” Akali said with a wry smile. “In these clothes I can chase a cat, but to marry someone when I have these stains–I cannot help the state of my clothes.” Akali sighed as she resumed her task. She hoped that her frustrations of the day did nothing to overwork the dough, but she could not help but feel more annoyed about the words that she received. Lady Evelynn was wrong to appraise her like she was nothing. That might have been the rules of society, but she had her pride. She worked hard and made an honest woman of herself. She would continue with her complaint but it would only make heart heavier. Kai’Sa pursed her lips, eyes bleeding with sympathy. 

Normally, those words wouldn't hurt her. Akali knew she couldn’t help where she was currently and she was trying to make do with the cards that she was given. 

“To be married? I could be the happiest woman alive– but we are not cut from the same cloth.”

It was already a sore topic. Kai’Sa knew she had to change the subject quickly, “Lady Evelynn didn’t write that there was a station limit. I believe it is open to anyone. Men and women.”

Akali shook her head in disbelief, “She must have lost all sense to even write such a challenge. That cat better be quick, otherwise this challenge would be over quickly.”

//

**Author's Note:**

> I did a thing :3 Hope you all like it! 
> 
> Want updates or snippets from me?
> 
> Check out my Twitter @ninjajanjan :)


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